See the Production Page for photos and further detail, or visit Metra’s dedicated website!

About

The year is 2043. Despite lip service toward climate action, the fossil fuel industry continues to thrive. Shit’s bad. The rich choose to ignore it, insulated in air-conditioned Bubble communities and continuing to reap the benefits of disaster capitalism. But in a roadside bar on the Outside, a movement of collective power is brewing. A group of revolutionaries-a journalist, a hedge fund manager, and an ancient tree nymph-are tapping into a mythic and elemental magic that will demand that the powerful break the cycle of destruction, or face its consequences.

Metra: A Climate Revolution Play with Songs is a radical adaptation of the myth of Erisycthon, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In the myth, a King destroys a sacred grove, and is then cursed by the goddess Ceres with unquenchable hunger. Our new work seeks to lay bare the compulsion for dominance and control in the oppressive structures upholding climate change—and to imagine alternative sources of cooperative power.

Creation

The themes for Metra were originally conceived and developed through a series of devising workshops in 2018, led by Emily Hartford, that were funded by the Puffin Foundation. Following those workshops, Ned Hartford and Emily Hartford created the script for Metra (with songs by Ned Hartford). The work received development support from Flux Theatre Ensemble.

Metra had its world premiere production with Flux Theatre Ensemble in fall 2022. The work was called “a brash fantasia” … “A wild amalgam of Greek myth, glam rock, time travel, comedy, and dystopian projection to envision both despair and an inkling of hope” … “Inventive and endlessly intriguing storylines blend ancient myth with sci-fi acumen.” … “If Metra took the place of something like The Lion King on Broadway, we’d all be better off. But until then, you can make sure to see it at Abrons Arts Center.”